1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an illumination assembly designed to be mounted on the interior of a purse, pocketbook, backpack, briefcase or like structure. The illumination assembly includes a casing which is sufficiently small in size to occupy a minimum amount of interior space within a purse, etc. and further, includes an electric circuit assembly designed to selectively activate an illumination source through manipulation of an actuating member. As such, light can be generated by the assembly from the casing to interior portions of the purse, and thereby, facilitate the location of keys, coins, writing instruments and other items typically carried within a purse, pocketbook, backpack, briefcase, etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
The carrying of pocketbooks, purses, hand bags, etc. by women is and has been prevalent for many years. In addition, the use of pouches, satchels, backpacks and other objects for carrying various types of articles has become increasingly popular, not only with women but with men, as well as children, in more recent years. In today""s fast-paced society, there has been a tendency for the size and capacity of such structures to increase in order to accommodate an increasing number of generally larger devices, such as but not limited to, portable telephones, sound recorders, radios and like electronic instruments, which were not commonly available in reduced sizes in years past. While these sorts of larger devices are capable of being easily located on the interior of a pocketbook, purse, backpack, etc., the smaller, somewhat more conventional items such as keys, coins, and like articles are frequently more difficult to locate because of their size, and also because they are frequently covered by the larger, heavier articles.
In recognition of this problem, some have resorted to carrying a hand-held, relatively small, portable xe2x80x9cflash lightxe2x80x9d or like illumination instrument, which may also be stored on the interior of the purse or like structure, and which is primarily used to illuminate the purse interior for the location of the smaller, hard to find articles, as set forth above. One problem associated with the use of such smaller flash lights, however, is the tendency for them to also become misplaced on the interior of the purse or like structure, thereby delaying and making even more complicated the locating of smaller articles within the purse.
More sophisticated attempts to overcome the problem described above involve the use of relatively small illumination devices secured to the interior of a purse or the like. Typically, such illumination devices are manually or automatically activated to generate light, while one searches for one or more articles through the contents stored on the purse interior. While it may be assumed that the various, known illumination devices are operable for their intended function, additional problems arise relating to the complexity, cost, efficiency and overall reliability of such devices. For example, some of the known devices are expensive and overly complicated in that they include components such as specific light transmitting lenses, complex switching assemblies, and automatic actuation devices structured to control the flow of current from a battery or other self contained power source to one or more electric bulbs. In addition, such devices are relatively fragile and oftentimes cannot withstand the inadvertent abuse to which they are subjected on the interior of a purse, pocketbook, etc. Also, the existence of numerous components associated with such known devices have resulted in their having to be disposed within a bulky or somewhat oversized housing, thereby rendering such devices inconvenient for effective mounting or attachment on the interior of a purse or like structure.
As such, there remains a need in the art for an effective, durable illumination assembly having a somewhat simplified construction, thereby increasing its reliability and decreasing the cost associated with both purchase and maintenance. Further, any such improved illumination assembly developed should be capable of being permanently mounted at a single location, but more preferably, would be capable of being removably mounted at a variety of locations on the interior of a purse or pocketbook orxe2x80x94even within any one of a plurality of purses or pocketbooks, etc.,xe2x80x94so as to allow for the most effective illumination of the interior of a pocketbook, purse, pouch, nap sack, etc, regardless of its size and overall configuration.
The present invention is directed to an illumination assembly designed to be mounted within and illuminate the interior of a purse, pocketbook, pouch, backpack or other applicable storage structure, generally of the type carried by a person. of course, the light assembly of the present invention could be varied in dimension and/or configuration and otherwise be structurally adapted for use in the illumination of other structures, not necessarily limited to a purse, pocketbook, etc., such as brief cases, book bags, daily planners, etc. which are designed to store a plurality of diverse objects, some of which are sufficiently small in dimension to render them relatively difficult to find on the interior of such a storage structure.
More specifically, the illumination assembly of the present invention, also referred to herein as a light assembly, includes a casing having an interior, the boundaries of which are at least partially defined by an exterior wall. Operative components of the light assembly include a circuit assembly, at least partially mounted within the casing interior and comprising an illumination source, which is preferably in the form of at least one light bulb electrically connected to a power source, such as a dry cell battery. The circuit assembly also includes a switch assembly which is disposed and structured to regulate current flow between the power source and the illumination source.
The switch assembly, depending upon the particular embodiment utilized, may comprise a xe2x80x9cmomentaryxe2x80x9d switch assembly incorporating an actuating member which is at least partially exteriorly accessible and which is normally biased into a xe2x80x9ccircuit openxe2x80x9d position. Depression of the actuating member against the aforementioned biasing force will serve to dispose the switch assembly in a xe2x80x9ccircuit closedxe2x80x9d position, whereby current flows to the electric bulb for illumination thereof. Alternately, the switch assembly may include an xe2x80x9con-offxe2x80x9d switch, wherein the light bulb is activated and illuminated by an initial depression or xe2x80x9cpushxe2x80x9d of an actuating member. The illumination of the light bulb is maintained until specifically de-activated as the actuating member is again, subsequently xe2x80x9cpushedxe2x80x9d, thereby disposing the switch assembly in the xe2x80x9ccircuit openxe2x80x9d position.
The casing of the illumination assembly further comprises an access opening which is preferably dimensioned and disposed to provide easy access to the various components mounted within the casing interior, including but not limited to the circuit assembly. Replacement of a battery or light bulb, repair and/or be cleaning or other maintenance is thereby facilitated of the various operative components disposed within the casing interior. A closure assembly is associated with the access opening and includes a closure member movably mounted on the casing and selectively positionable between a closed position and an open position relative to the access opening.
Further, the exterior wall of the casing is also structured to at least partially include a transparent portion or a similar, equivalent type of material portion through which light may be transmitted. For purposes of conveniently locating the transparent or light transmitting portion, the closure member may be formed to be a movable part of the exterior wall of the casing, such that the light transmitting portion can be formed on the closure member or alternately, on some other part of the exterior wall of the casing. However, regardless of the specific structural embodiment, the illumination source which, as set forth above, is defined as part of the circuit assembly, is disposed in generally aligned relation with the transparent or light transmitting portion of the exterior wall of the casing. As such, light generated by the illumination source easily passes through the aligned, light transmitting portion of the exterior wall, so as to illuminate the interior of the purse, pocketbook, etc. in which it is mounted, in a comprehensive manner.
Further structural features of the light assembly of the present invention include a mounting structure which, depending upon the particular embodiment utilized, may attach the light assembly in a substantially permanent manner at a fixed location within the interior or alternatively, may provide for the selective removable positioning and attachment of the casing at any one of a variety of different locations, as desired. Therefore, illumination issuing from the casing may be substantially concentrated on a particular area within the interior of the purse while concurrently allowing for a majority of the purse interior to be at least partially illuminated. In addition, the embodiment wherein the light assembly is removably mounted permits the utilization of the assembly within a variety of purses or other carryable structures.